


The Tenth Day of Christmas: Santa Baby (Dec 22)

by araliya



Series: 12 Days of CC Christmas 2017 [10]
Category: Glee RPF
Genre: AU, Fluffy as hell, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 15:57:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13103601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/araliya/pseuds/araliya
Summary: Chris is the hottest elf at Santa's Workshop, and Darren is enthralled.





	The Tenth Day of Christmas: Santa Baby (Dec 22)

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to know how Chris looks, look at Kurt from S5 E8 'Previously Unaired Christmas' 
> 
> I simply adored writing this, so tell me what you think!

Darren tugs on his little cousin Gracie’s hand, trying desperately to stop her from bounding over to one of the fake lampposts and stealing one of the red and silver balloons. She’s dragged him off to the Santa’s Workshop in their mall, and he sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the world-weary parents and their enraptured children.

 

“You’ve already got one!” He hisses, grimacing apologetically to a bleached-blonde soccer mom nearby, who frowns at him while rocking her cherubic twins on her knees.

 

“I wanna _all of them_!” Gracie wails, and Darren can tell she’s about to make a break for it, when the music starts and she’s stopped dead in her tracks. Darren’s jaw drops open.

 

 _“[Santa](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnOLam2AwXY) baby, slip a Rolex under the tree, for me. _ _  
_ _I've been an awful good guy_

_Santa buddy, and hurry down the chimney tonight.”_

 

The voice is high and clear and angelic, but unmistakably male. It also belongs to the most beautiful guy Darren has ever seen. He’s got swooping chestnut hair, high cheekbones tinged with pink, and rosy lips that curve into the words as he sings.

 

“It’s an elf!” cries Gracie excitedly, which snaps him jarringly back to reality.

 

“Is he?” Darren asks, more because this is a learning opportunity for Gracie and not because he can’t already tell. The guy would be otherworldly even without the plastic tipped ears and costume.

 

“Uh-huh!” nods Gracie. “He got bells all over, an- an’ he got a candy cane! It’s _ginormous_!”

 

Darren laughs and pulls her into his lap, holding her closer so that the string of the balloon she’s clutching nudges the side of his face. Mr Not-Of-This-Earth Angel is in fact twirling an enormous candy cane, alternating it between hands. It spins blindingly fast, almost ninja-like, and that coupled with the fact that he’s singing _Santa Baby_ almost makes Darren melt right out of his seat.

 

Granted, it’s the no homo Michael Buble version, but Darren wouldn’t really expect Clovis, California to be okay with a guy singing about ‘kissing fellas’ and calling Santa every pet name under the sun. The soccer moms would probably cover their kids’ ears and throw Bibles.

 

The Angel skips off the red-and white patterned stage and hands off the candy cane baton in exchange for a bag of smaller, more edible ones. He sings as he makes his way to the audience, starting at one end of the semicircle of entranced children, and making his way along.

 

 _“Think of all the fun I've missed,_ _  
_ _I think of all the hotties that I never kissed”_

 

Of course, it’s just Darren’s luck that this is the line the Angel sings when he gets to Gracie to hand her a candy cane. The Angel winks at his cousin, and then his eyes flicker up to Darren, who grins through his beet red blush. The Angel’s eyes seem to widen imperceptibly, and for a second, Darren’s heart stops, but then he’s skipping along to the cherubs next to him.

 

 _Did he just-?_ Darren shakes his head. He imagined that, right? It’s not like Darren’s good-looking or interesting enough to render the Angel speechless, or anything.

 

“He’s pretty.”

 

Darren tears his eyes away from Angel, who’s finishing off the song, and stares at Gracie in surprise. “Yeah, he is. He’s beautiful.”

 

***

 

“ _Shhh_ , Gracie, you’ve got to be quiet!”

 

Darren’s on his tiptoes, fighting with the knot that’s tying all the balloons together. Santa’s Workshop closed hours ago, but at Gracie’s insistence, they’ve stayed long enough that (hopefully) no one will notice when they try to steal a balloon. Darren had desperately offered to buy her a hundred balloons from an actual shop, but Gracie had wanted _those ones exactly_. After seeing an impending temper tantrum looming, he’d relented, not really wanting to take Gracie back to his aunt in hysterics.

 

He’s almost bested the impossible knot, loosening the last of the ribbons, when a familiar voice comes out from behind him.

 

“Stealing from Santa?”

 

 _Oh god._ It’s the Angel.

 

Darren, for once, is at a loss for words. “I-I uh-” He gulps. “Gracie just _really_ wanted one and-”

 

Angel laughs and comes closer, batting Darren’s hands away to expertly remove a big silver balloon from the bundle. “Relax, it’s fine. They just get rid of them at the end of every day anyway, since they deflate over night.”

 

He hands the balloon to an enchanted Gracie, who’s still standing with her mouth wide. She tugs at Darren’s jeans. “Didi, it’s the elf!”

 

“Didi?” Angel asks, looking over at Darren.

 

“Darren,” he corrects. “She had trouble pronouncing my name when she was really little, so it became Didi.”  

 

The Angel nods in understanding, and crouches down until he and his cousin are eye to eye. “Your name’s Gracie, huh?” Gracie nods energetically. “I’m Chris.”

 

“Didi said you were beautiful,” says Gracie timidly.

 

This time, it’s Chris’ turn to go pink.

 

“I’m so sorry about that,” Darren says. _God, what if he’s not even gay, what is he’s just really creeped out, this is_ just _his luck_ \- “Three year olds don’t really have a filter.”

 

“Don’t apologise,” says Chris softly. He pulls himself back upright. “No one’s ever called me that before.”

 

“Are you serious?” Darren asks incredulously. “But like, you’re gorgeous! What with your hair, and your skin, and your _voice_ -” He gestures wildly, and Chris is probably so weirded out right now, but Darren really needs to make him understand.

 

“And your smile, and your _eyes_ , which I’ve only just noticed now, but-”

 

“Would you like to go for a coffee?” Chris’ clear voice cuts through Darren’s rambling, and he has to blink and replay Chris’ words several times to make sure he hasn’t misheard.

 

“Wha- what?”

 

“Coffee,” Chris repeats patiently, with a tiny smile. “With me.”

 

“I have Gracie,” Darren says helplessly, and _why_ did he have to offer to babysit her today?

 

“She can come too.”

 

Darren stares at him, and Chris shrugs. “After all, she’s the one I have to thank for getting to meet you today. Would you even have come to the Workshop otherwise?”

 

“I guess not.”

 

Chris holds out his hand for Gracie. To Darren’s surprise, she takes it.

 

“Don’t worry,” Chris says to him as they exit the mall, double doors sliding to a close behind them. “We can go out by ourselves, if you’d like, afterwards?”

 

“Yeah,” he squeaks breathlessly. “I’d like that.”

 

Chris smiles, and Darren makes a mental note to come back to the mall tomorrow and buy Gracie a thousand and one of those same balloons as a thank you.


End file.
